鈥淥n February 14, 2018, I received frantic texts from my friends hiding from a shooter in their classrooms. I began to hyperventilate, worrying the unthinkable would happen in Parkland, Florida. At the end of a restless day, I learned one of my fellow URJ campers, Alyssa Alhadeff, had been killed. I developed anxiety after the shooting and couldn鈥檛 attend a full day of school for weeks. My visits to the school guidance counselor were frequent, and my nightmares made sleeping difficult. Despite these challenges, I was inspired by the youth-led movements emerging across the country. I facilitated a walkout at my high school in North Carolina, marched in support of gun control alongside my friends in Washington, D.C. and registered voters. As my advocacy increased, I still felt my impact wasn鈥檛 meaningful enough. That led me to create , a gun violence prevention nonprofit that believes every student and teacher deserve to return home safely from school each day. By selling school supplies with messages that sparked educational conversations, Return Home raised thousands of dollars for our nation’s leading gun violence prevention groups. I shared my story in communities across the country and built personal connections with over 30,000 people, including gun violence survivors, elected officials and Americans longing for safety. Knowing there are 2,000 pencils, folders and other school supplies on desks across America raising awareness motivates me to continue using my own voice to raise awareness every day.鈥� 鈥� Juliana (Jules) Oringel, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Juliana (Jules) Oringel is a recipient of the inaugural Handeli First-Year Student Scholarship from 精东影业. Learn more about Hillel scholarships for Jewish students.

鈥淛ewish life centered around the home for me. My family emigrated from India to New York and then moved to North Carolina. We kept kosher and celebrated High Holidays and Shabbat, but we didn鈥檛 really feel connected to the larger Jewish community.

鈥淲hen I began studying at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, I became a Hillel regular. It didn鈥檛 take long for me to realize that Jewish life at UNC Hillel was so different from Jewish life at home. Growing up, I practiced Judaism with older Jewish adults. This was the first time I was surrounded by young Jews 鈥� people my age. There were Jewish students from so many backgrounds and cultures. It made me think, 鈥榃ow, I鈥檓 not the only one.鈥� Because of that, I kept coming back.

鈥淓arlier this semester, Rabbi Melissa, our senior Jewish educator 精东影业, asked me if I would want to plan a Shabbat centered around Indian-Jewish culture. I loved the idea of sharing a part of myself with Hillel. We brainstormed decor, food, customs, and services. And my parents helped too. Dinner featured recipes from my family, including my mom鈥檚 Indian Kanji chicken, a curry chicken dish I grew up eating on Shabbat. My dad spoke to students about observing kashrut in India. He explained how it was easy for him because everyone eats vegetarian there, but kosher meat is hard to come by because you have to buy it through a synagogue. We also had a group discussion about Indian Jews and the history of our customs and practices.

鈥淚 think events like this is a powerful way to learn about Jewish diversity. It goes to show that even if we eat different foods or sing different prayer tunes, we鈥檙e all still Jewish. We still have things that connect us.鈥� 鈥� Liron Benjamin, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill